As everything was arranged, Aiden sent a carriage from the Brooke Mansion to collect Raven, who, though not entirely convinced, ultimately boarded. In there, an older woman introduced herself as Marchioness Gilda Jones, who would be in charge of quickly teaching her some formalities for when she stood before the emperor.
"Did you understand well, Miss Green?"
"It's an insult, the prince sent her suggesting I'm not educated enough."
"Perhaps he thought you wouldn't know, having been raised as Miss Brooke's playmate."
"I wasn't raised as a servant, and even if I were, I would still be educated."
Now she feels like getting out of that carriage, but she doesn't, because at least the pay will be worth it. Upon arrival, both disembark, with Raven drawing the attention of everyone present in that palace; indeed, while she has no family to support her, her attractiveness does not go unnoticed by the men, and of course, there have been those who have proposed to her, yet she has never been interested, planning to continue living alone, independize from the Brooke family once she saved enough money, and retire to a quiet place.
Aiden waits in the main hall to escort her to the throne room; when the doors open and Raven makes her entrance, Aiden is awestruck by her beautiful figure, accentuated by the light pouring through the window, never before realizing the extent of Raven's beauty, indeed, he was dazzled by Daisy, but now, seeing clearly, Daisy is nothing in comparison to Raven's radiance.
He is practically dumbfounded by her until the girl approaches and looks at him strangely.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Raven shakes his shoulder, and Aiden snaps out of it, still blushing at the sight of her, offers his arm to lead her to the throne room. There, Raven curtsies to the emperor, who, like the prince, is completely taken aback by the beautiful girl.
"Greetings, Your Majesty, may the gods' blessing always be with you."
The emperor chuckles a little; his son has indeed appreciated beauty.
"Rise, my girl. I'm pleased to know that my son has chosen such a beautiful lady."
"Thank you for your compliments, Your Majesty. For me, it is an honor to be here and to be presented to you. My name is Raven Green, as you may already know, I am under the protection of the Duchess Brooke."
"Yes, my son has told me; it's unfortunate you've been left alone in this world."
"Not anymore, Your Majesty, now I won't be alone."
Raven smiles and leans on Aiden's arm, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Now I have the prince by my side, and I'm sure together we shall build a great family. I hope you will also allow me to call you father."
"Oh! That wouldn't be too bad."
The emperor laughs again; the girl is polite, yet has not hesitated to act affectionately even in his presence. Aiden stands still, completely red as the girl is so close; before he never felt anything when Raven hugged him, and now he can't understand why he's so nervous.
"Y...yes, father, she’s no longer alone. I’m sure you too will be like a father to her."
The emperor just observes them both and then gives a light clap.
"Well, I give my approval. The engagement shall be formally set in one week's time, and we'll throw a party at the palace to celebrate."
Aiden feels a great relief, fortunate that his father approved of Raven even though she has no family, supposing what the girl has said influenced the acceptance.
"Really? Thank you, father; I knew you would approve Miss Raven."
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, I promise to make Prince Aiden immensely happy."
Raven holds his cheeks and plants a kiss on his cheek, leaving Aiden speechless, while the emperor feigns a cough to snap him out of the romantic moment. Now that approval has been granted, the next step is to meet the empress, but for that, he also must schedule a meeting with her, so for now, Raven must wait.
"Is your mother like your father, or is she more strict?"
"She is more unique, she doesn’t yet know I've found someone and it seems she’s still meeting with young ladies."
"So now I must impress her more than those others or she might oppose."
"Don't worry about that, you already have my father’s approval, that should suffice."
At least he hopes so, because his mother surely has a favorite candidate in mind.
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